Crowned 2017 Red Bull Air Racing World Champion

In one of the most heart-stopping Final 4s in the Red Bull Air Race history, Yoshihide Muroya won the final stop on the Red Bull Air Race circuit, and with the win in Indianapolis this weekend overcame a four-point lead held by Martin Sonka to claim the 2017 World Championship in fantastic style.

It was an extremely tense affair in the Final 4 with Muroya flying first. He not only flew the perfect run, but he also beat the track record by more than a second, showing that when it comes to handling pressure, Yoshi Muroya is the king!

His time of 1:03.026 was going to be tough to beat and Martin Sonka had a long wait. Before he could fly he had to wait for Matthias Dolderer and Juan Velarde to have their runs.

Dolderer flew second and was never going to catch his friend. He was behind in every split and finished 2.520s behind Muroya. Velarde also couldn't topple him and was even slower than Dolderer.

This meant that Sonka knew exactly what he had to do, but it was a terrible run for the Czech pilot. He stalled in the Vertical Turning Manoeuvre and lost more than four seconds in time, finishing fourth in the Final 4 and handing the title to Muroya.

Muroya makes history by becoming the first Red Bull Air Race World Champion from Asia, and with four wins this season he'll be the favourite to win the 2018 title as well.

(Source: Red Bull Air Race news release. Images provided)

FMI: airrace.redbull.com/en_US